Gulf Coast opens with Pensacola

Monday

PANAMA CITY — The last time a ballclub had a team earned run average of 6.19 and contended for a title it probably was playing at altitude in the Pacific Coast League.

Gulf Coast hopes that statistic somehow equates to success when the Panhandle Conference baseball season begins Tuesday with the opening games in a pair of four-game series.

Gulf Coast entertains Pensacola at 5 p.m. at Bill Frazier Field while Tallahassee plays at Chipola in Marianna. The same teams, sites and starting times are in play on Thursday, and on Saturday the team that traveled during the week hosts a doubleheader.

Commodores coach Mike Kandler obviously wants his club to pitch a lot better than it has in 20 games while acquiring a 12-8 record. But the Commodores also are the type of team that could make that abnormality work if they allowed three runs in each of three straight wins, then were scorched for 15 runs in the fourth game. That might translate into a 3-1 record and an ERA of 6.00 or higher if a run-rule prevailed.

"We’ve been all over the board with great starts, then really inconsistent starts," Kandler said on Monday. "The one thing we’ve been consistent with is our inconsistency."

That said, there doesn’t appear to be a team in the conference with the firepower to match Chipola’s fence-busters of last season while it was sharpening its game for a successful national championship run.

"With any team, pitching obviously has got a lot to do with it," Kandler said. "I don’t know a lot of in-depth things, but I think everybody has been inconsistent across the board" in the conference.

"Everybody has played well at times and everybody has had some bad losses. It’s like whichever team shows up is going to win. Everybody has had their moments."

If there is one constant about Gulf Coast thus far it appears the Commodores are going to hit. They average .319 and their power numbers are solid at 22 home runs, while their speed totals are down with only 10 stolen bases.

Through 20 nonconference games and a fall schedule players have had ample opportunities to prove themselves worthy of playing time. From this stage forward it’s going to be which bats and arms get hot and stay that way.

"I don’t know this team … you never know what you’re going to get," Kandler said. "It’s not like there’s a quick fix."

Trever Kilcrease leads the staff with a 3-1 record, 36 innings, 36 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA. He gets the call Tuesday against Pensacola, but that is as far as Kandler would commit with his rotation.

A capsule look at the rest of the Panhandle Conference:

Pensacola (12-11) — The Pirates have played only 10 of their 23 games at home, but their record there is just 4-6. They opened the season 1-4 and won their last two games to get above .500 for their opening series with Gulf Coast.

Pensacola hits just .262 as a team, but has held opponents to a rather miserly .245 batting average. Like Tallahassee, the Pirates like to run with 40 stolen bases helping offset just 10 home runs.

Griffin Rivers is hitting .354 with two homers and a team-leading 20 RBIs. He’s is the lone regular above .300, however. James Parris leads with 12 stolen bases but is hitting just .222.

Some of the pitching numbers jump out as DJ Wilkinson is 5-0, 2.38 with 41 strikeouts in 34 innings. Evan Floyd is 2-2, 2.70, but the rest of the rotation is Chad Bryant, 1-3, 5.24, and Alex Tyson, 1-1, 4.24.

Chipola (17-6) — The defending national champion comes into its opener Tuesday against Tallahassee on a six-game winning streak. The Indians don’t boast the jaw-dropping regular lineup of a season ago, but in Max Guzman have an early player of the year candidate. Guzman is batting .470 with seven home runs and 25 runs batted in. His power numbers match up with any hitter in this part of the state, although Gulf Coast’s Alec Aleywine isn’t far behind at .444, 4-30.

Edmond Americaan also returns from last season and is hitting .376 with seven stolen bases. Jared Howell is hitting .301 with three homers and 20 RBIs and Francisco Urbaez is hitting .362.

The pitching staff has an ERA of 3.94, which is third among conference schools. The rotation thus far has been Andrew Grogan, 3-0, 1.80; Phillip Sanderson, 3-0, 4.21; and Jack Dellinger, 2-1, 5.94. Jared Howell has two saves in seven appearances and Chase Forester has appeared in nine games with a 2-0 record and 2.53 ERA.

Northwest Florida State (14-7) — The Raiders had a six-game winning streak in early February, and after dropping three games in a row in a tournament have won five of their last six. What stands out is a 2.91 staff ERA. The Raiders don’t open until next week against Pensacola State, but have scheduled five games before then to stay sharp.

NWFS has a .315 team batting average with mediocre power numbers and a solid 26 stolen bases. Freshman Miguel Cienfuego is hitting .386 with four homers and 19 RBIs. Freshman Jake Randa is hitting .478 with 4-22 and Kaden Polcovich is .317 with 10 stolen bases.

Christian Camacho is 3-2 with a 2.53 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 32 innings. Thomas Farr is 5-1, 3.07, Grant Stewart 4-0, 1.84 and Ethan Routzahn has appeared in eight games and has a 0.00 ERA.

Tallahassee (16-7) The Eagles recently went on a nine-game tear and have won 11 of their last 12. They have low power numbers, but like to run as attested by 36 steals against 12 homers. The staff has a 4.52 ERA, but holds opponents to a .265 batting average which hints at location problems.